


Together

by wulfeyes08



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Dreams and Nightmares, Established Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Love, M/M, Nightmares, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:48:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27531016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wulfeyes08/pseuds/wulfeyes08
Summary: “Tell me.”“Only a bad dream.”“Is that why you’re out here, alone?”“I’m not alone.”“Hannibal.”
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 148





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoy the ongoing theme of Hannibal's mental and emotional walls being broken down. Things he was able to keep buried before, start to break through when he's sleeping and because he doesn't like the idea of waking Will, he doesn't. 
> 
> The words he uses:
> 
> "I love you/I love really love you"  
> "My love/my heart"  
> "Mongoose"

Will had not expected to wake alone. He had also not expected to find Hannibal asleep on the couch, a book resting on his chest while Chesapeake lay curled beneath the coffee table. Hannibal whispered in his sleep, the light coming from the fireplace dancing over his face, revealing his distress. “Hannibal?” He said it softly as he moved the book to the coffee table. He dropped slowly down onto the edge of the couch and gently placed a hand on his husband’s chest. It startled him awake, his fingers wrapping around his wrist in a painfully tight grip. His eyes were wild, lost. “Hey, it’s me. It’s just me.”

He was panting and he sat up, looking around, and Will sat still, waiting. Fear and shame sank into him, causing a chill to settle in his chest. Hannibal’s eyes finally turned to him, looking nearly black in the firelight. Recognition filled them and his grip loosened as he pulled Will against him. “Will.” There was a shaky, unsure quality to his voice, his every muscle a tense bundle of terror. 

“It’s okay.” He ran his hands up and down his back, fingers brushing along his spine, tracing the brand as he went. He pressed a kiss into his shoulder, sitting in silence until he began to relax. He decided to take a page from Hannibal. “Tell me.”

“Only a bad dream.”

“Is that why you’re out here, alone?” 

“I’m not alone.”

“Hannibal.” He pulled back, taking his face in his hands. It lingered there, even when he attempted to conceal it. “You and I have no reason to lie to each other, not anymore. Whatever it is, whatever darkness you have plaguing you, I want to know.”

Those eyes, dark pools of indecision searched his face. Conflicting emotions tangled together and played across Will’s nerve endings like an electrical charge. Worry, agitation, and want. A need for honesty but dreading what it might mean for him. Will waited, knowing how complicated moments like these could be for his monster. Hannibal took a deep breath and let it out. “The first nightmare, you were leaving me again. You were adamant, angry, refusing to listen to anything I had to say or answer any questions. It was like that night, the painful ache twisting in me like a knife, leaving me on edge. I came out here to protect you because I was angry and…”

“Scared.”

“Perhaps.” 

“And the second one?”

He pressed his hand to the back of Will’s and turned his head, pressing a kiss into his palm. “Put more wood on the fire and lay with me, then I will tell you mano meilé.” 

“Alright, just relax.”

He felt Hannibal’s eyes on him as he moved away. They followed him, tracking his every movement. He didn’t stop at the fire, hurrying to the bedroom and grabbing a pillow and blanket, wanting them to be as comfortable as possible. He brought them back, a small smile greeting him. “Trade me places.” He ordered, and Hannibal moved. They curled up together, Will propping himself up on the pillow then covering them. Hannibal’s head rested on his chest and he ran fingers through his hair and down his back, hoping to soothe him. “Talk to me.”

“We were in the snow, surrounded by it. All sound had vanished, eaten by the frozen world around us. Your head was cradled in my lap, blood leaked from your throat and I clutched at it, attempting to stem the flow, yet it continued to leak through my fingers, an uncontrollable river of red. It fell into the snow, melting and staining it. You looked up at me, trying to speak, trying to tell me something. I tried to respond, but no sound came out.” His arms tightened around Will, causing his ribs to ache, but he didn’t have it in him to make him let go. “You slipped away, eyes and veins empty of life and the despair ravenously fed upon me, like some carrion bird it pecked and tore at me until there was nothing but pain. Then I blinked and you were gone, just vanished, leaving only that red. You were gone and then…”

“I woke you.”

“It was a relief.”

They fell into silence, Hannibal waiting, will processing both his story and his emotions. There wasn’t much that rattled Hannibal, he was the personification of confidence and control. He rarely admitted to fearing anything, but there was an ever-developing theme in the bad dreams that occasionally visited him. “Are you afraid of being alone?” He asked.

Hannibal raised his head. “No. I enjoy the company of others but being alone means nothing.”

“Then…”

“My pain and fear come from the thought of there being no you, of there being no us. That night, when we had our little disagreement, a pocket of emptiness had opened inside of me, only to be filled with venom. I wanted to punish you more, and I did. I wanted you to know how much your betrayal meant to me, so I showed you. You broke my heart, so I attempted to break your spirit.” He shifted his weight to the side, bringing his hand up to slide beneath Will’s shirt. He followed the scar with his fingers, a slow exploration of a bitter memory. “I marked you so you would never forget, but it only serves as a reminder to me of my own shortcomings.” He sighed. “Perhaps I am merely overthinking. Every day with you is another door thrown open, another wall torn down. Things begin to slip through the cracks, and I have no way of plugging them all.”

He slipped his fingers into Hannibal’s hair and tugged him forward. “Come here.” He smiled when he complied, sliding up until their foreheads were pressed together. “Close your eyes.” He stared curiously at him, trying to read him. “Do it.” He did, slowly, and Will followed. “We are together in this room, you and I. This is our safe place, our new sanctuary. We must always come back here, you and I. We don’t have to be afraid of old memories or past regrets here, because even if they enter this place, we can work through them, together. Repeat it. Together.”

“Together.”

“Repeat it every day.”

“A mantra to remind myself of the truth.”

“That’s right.”

“Such a brilliant boy.” He pulled back a little, and they both opened their eyes, looking into each other. “Have I told you I love you today?”

“You did, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it again.”

He smiled, back to the adoring, confident, predator. “As tave myliu, mano sirdie.” He brushed a kiss to his lips, sending a shock of pleasure through him. “As tave labai myliu, mangustuk.” Another kiss, this one lingering. “Together, you and I.”

“Together.”


End file.
